Martin High School (Arlington, Texas)

James Martin High School
Address
4501 West Pleasant Ridge Road Arlington, Texas 76016 United States
Coordinates	32°41′02″N 97°10′48″W / 32.684°N 97.180°WCoordinates: 32°41′02″N 97°10′48″W / 32.684°N 97.180°W
Information
Type	Public
Established	1982
Principal	Marlene Roddy
Teaching staff	195.74 (FTE)
Enrollment	3,298 (2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio	16.85
Color(s)	Black, Red and Silver
Nickname	Warriors
Rival	Arlington High School
Website	aisd.net/schools/seniorhigh/martin/index.html
[1]

James Martin High School is a secondary school serving grades 9 through 12 in Arlington, Texas, and is part of the Arlington Independent School District. The mascot of the school is the Warrior, and the school colors are black, red, and silver.

History

Martin opened in 1982. As a result, the old Bowie High School closed in 1983.^[2] Cathy Brown of The Dallas Morning News said that Sam Houston High School and Lamar High School were "relatively unaffected" by the opening of Martin, located in southwest Arlington.^[3] Brown explained that the attendance zone of Arlington High School lost many newly constructed houses for affluent people. After Martin's opening and by 1998, the school consistently won the all-sports award.^[3]

The school is named after former Superintendent James W. Martin. The name of the school was deemed controversial by some because it broke the trend of naming new AISD high schools after Texas heroes (the latest high school, Seguin High School, renewed the trend).

In 1997, the school underwent a massive renovation and overhaul, adding two new wings, one doubling the size of the east wing and one surrounding the entire southern and western side of the school, making a new auditorium replacing the old one, adding a newer and current main entrance along with a new office and several computer labs, doubling the size of the library, and a new wing to the northern one adding two new gymnasiums in addition to the two existing ones, along with a larger weight room and locker rooms. The cafeteria was expanded and a second courtyard was made.

It is rated by Texas Education Agency as an exemplary campus, since the 1997-1998 school year, the school has received an exemplary rating based on data from the TAAS testing and PIEMS report. During the 2002-2003 school year, Martin gained an acceptable rating from the preliminary testing of the TAKS test.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 3,298 students enrolled in 2013-14 was:

• Male - 52.1%
• Female - 47.9%
• Native American/Alaskan - 0.5%
• Asian/Pacific islanders - 6.8%
• Black - 13.4%
• Hispanic - 16.8%
• White - 59.9%
• Multiracial - 2.6%

24.9% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.^[1]

City Rivalry

The Battle of South Arlington

Arlington James Martin High (of Southwest Arlington) and Arlington James Bowie High (of Southeast Arlington)

Cravens Showdown

Arlington Martin High and Arlington Lamar High

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities are largely participated in by the student body with nearly 75% of the students participating in at least one.

Academic extracurriculars

Martin competes in Academic Decathlon and fills out teams in nearly all of the UIL academic activities.

Athletics

Martin has strong athletic traditions in volleyball (1996 and 2005 state champions), baseball (1993 state champions), wrestling (2004 state champions) and cheerleading (multiple national championships in the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman divisions). The Warriors compete in the following sports:^[4]

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Cross country running
• Football
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Wrestling

Key club

The Key Club at Martin, with 677 members as of April 30, 2006, is the largest local chapter in the world.^[5]

Fine arts

The Department of Fine Arts at Martin High School includes Band, Choir, Orchestra, Theatre, Speech, and Visual Arts departments.

• In 2009, The Martin Fine Arts department was the 1st place winner in the Grammy in the Schools nationwide competition, giving them a $10,000 grant to the Music Department, and naming the Martin High School Fine Arts department the #1 Fine Arts high school in the contest.^[6][7]

Notable alumni

• Matt Blank, former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Montreal Expos^[8]
• Myles Garrett, currently playing for the Texas A&M Aggies^[9]
• Mitch Grassi, member of a capella group Pentatonix^[10]
• Ben Grieve, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays.^[11]
• Nathan Karns, baseball pitcher who played for Texas Tech University and is currently playing within the Tampa Bay Rays system.^[12]
• Randi Miller, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in women's wrestling and 2008 Women's Wrestler of the Year.^[13]
• Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes^[14]
• Stacey Oristano, supporting cast member of Friday Night Lights^[15]
• Tim Rushlow (class of 1985), American country music artist, and vocalist of the country music band Little Texas^[16]
• Boone Stutz, played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies.^[17] Also played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks.^[18]
• Todd Van Poppel, former Major League Baseball pitcher and 1st Round Draft Pick of the Oakland Athletics^[19]
• Emily Warfield, film and TV actress^[20]

References

1. "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Martin H S". ed.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
2. "About Us". James Bowie High School. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
3. Brown, Cathy (editorial columnist). "No blackboard jungles despite changing demographics." The Dallas Morning News. Wednesday October 14, 1998. Opinions Arlington 7A. Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
4. "Warrior Sports". James Martin High School. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
5. "New Club Information". Kiwanis International. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
6. "Grammy in the Schools web site". June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
7. "Grammy in the Schools, 2009 list of schools" (PDF). June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
8. "Matt Blank Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
9. "Arlington Martin alum, fearsome Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett much more than backfield buster". www.dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
10. "Pentatonix members make triumphant return to Martin High". dfw.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
11. "Ben Grieve Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
12. "Nathan Karns Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
13. "Randi Miller named 2008 Women's Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling". themat.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
14. "Blake Mycoskie Designs Custom TOMS Shoe for Hockaday Girls - D Magazine Frontburner". D Magazine, April 30th, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
15. "MARTIN PLAYERS ALUMNI IN THE SPOTLIGHT". Retrieved January 21, 2015.
16. "Gene Watson Peer Quotes from Tim Rushlow". Retrieved January 21, 2015.
17. "Boone Stutz NFL Draft Profile - NFLDraftScout.com". cbssports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
18. "Boone Stutz Statistics and History - NFL.com". NFL.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
19. "Todd Van Poppel Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
20. "Emily Warfield's Biography from IMDB.com". imdb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.

External links

• Martin High School Homepage
• Arlington Independent School District Homepage